Q-Line: Putting out the fire

The City Council recently banned smoking for new tenants of condos and apartments and on the same day approved a moratorium stopping medical marijuana dispensaries from operating within city limits.

So, this week Q-Line asked:
Did the smoking ban go far enough or should smoking be disallowed in all condos and apartments? Also, do you think they did the right thing by temporarily stopping pot shops and why?

Here are your responses:

“I think the smoking ban went far enough. I am a former landlord in the city of San Malicious and I know that smoke seeps through the walls. And regarding medical marijuana, I think they should allow it. Some people are sick unless they are allowed to smoke medical marijuana. As far as cigarettes go, I think they did the right thing. Both of my parents smoked. My mother used to give it up for Lent.”

“Smoking needs to be banned anywhere a non-smoker can smell it. If that means smokers can‚Äôt smoke in their apartments, so what?¬† Breathing rights are more important. If the smokers don‚Äôt like it, move.”

“Smoking can be allowed if the smokers go into a hermetically-sealed area. Therefore they can have all the smoke they want without bothering the rest of us.”

“The only smoking that should be allowed in condos and apartments is smoking marijuana for medical reasons and they absolutely did the wrong thing by stopping the pot shops. Besides, those people pay taxes. That helps the city.”

“Putting out the fire. What about the smoke? Temporarily stopping¬† pot shops and why, that‚Äôs never enough. It‚Äôs about time for the city to protect and serve, the same as cops should, from the corruption of greedy, evil-doers who are trying to kill our children. It‚Äôs time for a change, a change for good. No more smoking in apartments, condos and no more pot shops to open ‚Äî for good. Let‚Äôs breathe the air that Santa Monica has coming from the beach.”

“This is an unconstitutional taking of property rights. Apartment owners and condo associations always had the right to declare their property as smoke-free and tenants could‚Äôve always moved into a smoke-free apartment if they choose. The Nazis who have ruled over our town for 32 years say our city will be entirely smoke free after tobacco and pot smokers all move or die off. This is communism and social engineering at its worst. They may decide next that vegetarians shouldn‚Äôt have to smell their neighbor‚Äôs roast cooking or fart since it smells bad. When will the people in our once nice city have enough and run these jerks back to communist Korea or Cuba?”

“This ordinance does nothing to protect the Santa Monicans who are currently suffering due to their smoking neighbors. Also, this ordinance protects smokers from being evicted. So, if it boils down to either the smoking neighbor needing to move or the affected non-smoker, it is the smoker who gets rewarded. They get to remain in their unit; the non-smoker is penalized and given two options: have their health suffer or move. This smoking ban needs to go further. It is a matter of social justice. ‚Ä¶ Cigarette smokers are not a protected class under the constitution. Just because second-hand smoke in apartments and condos is invisible does not make it less real. Scientists have measured the smoke levels in Santa Monica units located next to smoking neighbors, and the results clearly demonstrate the level of second-hand smoke is like that measured in smoky casinos. All members of the City Council are keenly aware of this. And enough with the air purifier nonsense; if air purifiers were effective against casino-levels of smoke, Las Vegas would smell fresh and clean, and this would be a non-issue. Back to reality, Councilmembers Pam O‚ÄôConnor, Kevin McKeown and even Gleam Davis have consistently voted to protect smokers in their units and, with full knowledge, give their stamp of approval that their non-smoking neighbors suffer from resulting health problems, which are potentially deadly. Children, the elderly, those with disabilities, you name it: these council members value smokers over you and your right not to smoke. If you are a non-smoker who lives in a Santa Monica apartment or condo, and have never experienced the overwhelming ordeal of a smoking neighbor, well first of all, God bless you. But you should care about this issue, because you‚Äôre still vulnerable.”

“The City Council made a very huge mistake by approving a smoking ban. As a non-smoker, I realize that this is impossible to enforce. The big question here is, who‚Äôs going to enforce it? As a landlord, I‚Äôm certainly not going to go into people‚Äôs houses and enforce a non-smoking ban. It‚Äôs totally impossible and I think it‚Äôs unconstitutional. Smoking is a legal activity and people may do it where they are approved to do that in the public area, but not certainly in private homes, condos and apartments. It‚Äôs a very wrong approach.”